Stranded Palestinians Return From Egypt To Gaza

About 600 Palestinians caught in Hamas-Fatah power struggle begin homeward trek via Israel

Monday July 30th, 2007

For more than 7 weeks, thousands of Palestinians who had gone to Egypt or elsewhere for family visits, health care or schooling, found themselves unable to return to Gaza. According to The New York Times, they were stuck in the Egyptian towns of Rafah and El-Arish, or left living in the desert, after Egypt closed its border with Gaza on June 9 following the violent Hamas-Fatah clashes. Both Egypt and Israel have kept their crossings closed in an effort to isolate Hamas. But the two countries agreed to a deal in which at least some Palestinians, cleared by Israel, would be allowed to return via Israel's northern Erez crossing. All remaining Palestinians must first register with their embassy in Cairo to be vetted by Israel. Hamas denounces the deal because Israel controls who gets in. It insists all Palestinians should return directly from Egypt via the Rafah crossing which it controls. APTN was on the scene as the first of about 600 Palestinians began the 5-hour bus trip from Nizana crossing to Erez and home to Gaza.

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